After spending many years working in the corporate world as a creative marketing director, Hailey DeDominicis has been adjusting to her new career as a screenwriter.
The Brantford-born writer, who is now living in Paris, Ontario, had her first movie ‘Our Little Secret’ released on Netflix and described her experience over the last several years.
“I had always wanted to write, but I just felt like I never had the time to do it, and I was a commuter [so] when COVID hit, I got three hours of my day back. And I thought I would use this time to write…I made it my New Year’s resolution to get up every day at 6:00 a.m. before work and write,” she said.
By January 2021, DeDominicis had finished writing ‘Our Little Secret.’ She then looked into getting some feedback on her script, which led her to meet a person who would change her life.
“I finished it, and then there are [these] websites where you can pay people to read your scripts, get feedback [and to] see if they like it or not…[and] one night Lisa Gooding, who would go on to produce the film, was on there. She downloaded a bunch of Christmas scripts to see if anything stuck out to her, and she read mine. I [then] got this email from her asking to connect…[and] wanting to hear what my goals were for the project,” described DeDominicis. “That was just a total pinch-me moment. I actually thought it was too good to be true at first, but she turned out to be the real deal. We worked together on the script a little bit, and then she took it to Netflix, and they said yes…and now, for it to become number one on Netflix…I still think I’m going to wake up any second!”
‘Our Little Secret’, which stars Lindsay Lohan, is about two resentful exes discovering that their significant others are siblings, while hiding their romantic history during the Christmas season. However, DeDominicis described how important the casting was in making the project special.
“Lindsay was brought on first, and she was executive producer. So, she was really involved in the decision-making process and who else was attached to the film. I think that a lot of the magic for this film came to life in casting because the casting directors did such a fantastic job in who they attached to each character…then those actors elevated each of their characters into what you see on screen,” explained DeDominicis. “Obviously, you start with the script, but then as you go through the process, you [start to] see what each person brings to the table. A lot of the actors from the film are so comedic…like Tim Meadows, and Jon Rudnitsky….Ian Harding blows me away in this role…because I don’t think he’s done much comedy before, but he’s one of the funniest people I have ever met.”
Nevertheless, another key element to the film’s ‘magic’ has been the collaboration between DeDominicis and producer Lisa Gooding as well as having a positive experience during production.
“It was great because Lisa has a lot of industry experience behind her…but what’s [so interesting] is when we first met, she was about to take the leap from her corporate studio job to become an independent producer, and I was taking a leap from my corporate job to become a screenwriter,” she said. “I think the part that I found so lovely in all of this was that whether it was her or the team at Netflix, everyone understood that this was my first movie, and there was never a second where I felt like I couldn’t ask a question in fear of looking green. They all jumped into the role as mentors, and they took me through the process, and…I just came out having learned so much and having a [great] support system behind me.”
DeDominicis has also been overwhelmed with the film’s success, which held the number one spot on the Netflix’ English films list while making it to the top-ten viewed films in 92 countries.
“I wasn’t prepared for it taking on a life of its own…it’s a global film…it’s on Netflix all around the world. It’s dubbed into different languages, and the scale is so big. I have loved seeing the different Instagram stories…and screen grabs that my friends have been sending to me where people are gathered with their family and friends to watch it [and] that makes them feel good and makes them laugh. And that is exactly why we did it. It’s about reaching the right audience, and that audience is reacting positively, and that was the goal,” she said.
While the film is continuing to gain new fans, DeDominicis is looking to continue working with Gooding on future projects, but she is more than fine with focusing on Christmas-themed romantic comedies.
“When you do [these types of films], people do knock on your door for Christmas [films] but it’s okay by me because anyone that knows me knows that I’m obsessed with Christmas. So, if I can do rom-coms in the holiday space that’s where I want to be! And also, because there’s something so special about holiday movies [as] people look forward to them,” said DeDominicis. “Rom-coms are great any time of the year, but rom-coms at Christmas…there’s an energy around them that I don’t think exists for [regular] kinds of rom-coms and I love that. I love the messages that I’ve gotten from people watching in groups, you know, watching with friends, or their parents, and I don’t think that happens with other types of rom-coms, and so I think that’s really special.”
However, DeDominicis is very humbled by her success.
“I feel such tremendous gratitude. I have never taken it for granted for a day to be able to do what I’m doing. I never in a million years, thought that this would actually happen. I always said that if I could get someone to at least read a script of mine and want to option it, not actually sell it [or] make it, but just read something and think, ‘Oh, that’s good enough’…that was my goal,” DeDominicis said. “But I feel I’m going to wake up any second now…it’s just been the best time in my life because of the people that I’ve met on this journey who have become my mentors and collaborators…[and] in making a film that many people around the world are able to enjoy. That’s the best feeling.”
